Defining Yourself, Defining Your Brand

When it comes to the term “branding,” it’s much more than just your logo. Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be challenging, time-consuming and a little uncomfortable. However, it can be done.

Throughout the branding process, the goal is to distinguish yourself in your industry, so you can obtain your goals and ambitions. No matter the size of your company, branding is one of the most vital aspects of any business. Your brand is cultivated from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Whether you are branding yourself, your company or a product, there are several steps you can follow. All go hand-in-hand.

Defining Your Goals

Simply stated, you need to define your goals and objectives. What exactly do you want to achieve? Maybe you want to be known as the best project manager in an industry. Or maybe you want to be the best-known pool developer in your region. Be sure to clearly indicate what you want now and what you want into the future.

Research, Research, Research

Now that you know your aspirations, you need to do some research. Look at your competitors or those who have achieved what you want in the end. What can you learn from them? How are they branding themselves? It’s important to evaluate both the good and bad things. Each can help you see what you should and should not do.

Brand Characteristics

Next, you need to determine your brand attributes. Ask yourself, what do you want your brand to express?

Make a list of adjectives you wish your customers or peers will think when describing your personal brand or business.

What particular niche of an industry do you want to be known for?

What distinguishes brands in your market from others?

Do you have a tagline?

Current State

After defining your goals, doing some research and determining your brand characteristics—you need to check out your current state. Does your brand have a current perception by the public? If it does, what is that in comparison to where you want to be? Assess the changes you need to make from your current brand state.

Game Plan Time

With all that in mind, now you need a game plan. Time to your integrate brand. Keep in mind; this is much more than branding through social media channels. Your logo should be the centerfold of your brand, your website and promotional materials. Next, the language you utilize should be the same throughout all aspects of your brand. How you communicate visually and verbally is a crucial part of brand strategy.

Managing Your Brand

Once your brand is in place, you have to manage it. Using a proactive approach, manage all aspects of your brand from your website to social media, making sure all aspects are in sync. Consistency is the key.

Finally, as a marketing, branding and web development agency, defining brands is a part of our daily work. We understand the difficulties in setting yourself a part from the rest. We hope that that these steps help you in your branding development.